Brazil Courts

The Brazilian Supreme Court dealt a stunning blow Wednesday to President Fernando Collor de Mello in his fight against impeachment, denying his request for more time to contest charges against him in the lower house of Congress. The court's decision also rejected Collor's arguments that the impeachment vote should be secret. "The elector should vote secretly, not the elected," said Justice Octavio Galloti in his prevailing opinion.

SAO PAULO, Brazil -- A Brazilian court on Saturday sentenced 25 police officers to serve 624 years each for their roles in a prison massacre more than two decades ago. The 1992 incident left 111 prisoners dead after police entered Sao Paulo's Carandiru Penitentiary to put down a revolt. It became an iconic example of how Brazil's military police can sometimes kill with impunity, an issue which has recently moved to the center of ongoing street protests. The court on Saturday convicted the officers of murder in the killings of 52 inmates.

A day after clearing former President Fernando Collor de Mello of corruption, the Supreme Court threw the book at his top aide. The court voted unanimously late Tuesday to convict Paulo Cesar Farias, the high-living treasurer of Collor's 1989 presidential campaign, of falsifying official documents. He was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined 21,000 reals, or about $25,000.

Brazil's Supreme Court sided with Amazonian Indians in a land dispute that turned violent last year when authorities tried to evict rice farmers from a government-decreed reservation. The court ruling upholds the 4.2-million-acre Raposa Serra do Sol reservation for 18,000 Indians who lay claim to their ancestral land, despite a few large-scale farmers who also occupy the territory in the northernmost reaches of the Amazon jungle bordering Venezuela.

A state appeals court has annulled the conviction of a rancher for plotting the 1988 murder of Brazilian rain forest activist Chico Mendes. Environmentalists called it a major step backward for their movement in Brazil. The court in Rio Branco, in the Amazon jungle 2,600 miles northwest of Rio, overturned the 1990 conviction of rancher Darly Alves da Silva on Friday but upheld the conviction of his son, Darci Pereira. Both had been sentenced to 19 years in prison.

Brazil's Supreme Court on Thursday gave President Fernando Collor de Mello more time to prepare his last-ditch attempt to stave off impeachment, but the resignation of the president's chief of staff reinforced the impression that he still faces long odds. In a 7-1 decision, the court ruled that Congress must give the president until Sept. 24 or 25 to respond to accusations that he benefited from a giant influence-peddling scheme. Collor was originally ordered to complete his defense by Sept. 17.

Brazil's court of appeals has dropped charges against two Indians who lobbied abroad against construction of dams on their land and a U.S. scientist who served as their interpreter, a court official announced. Charges against Kaiapo tribe leaders Kubei Kaiapo and Paulinho Paiakan were dropped after the federal court ruled that they could not be tried. Charges against scientist Darrel Posey were also dropped.

SAO PAULO, Brazil -- A Brazilian court on Saturday sentenced 25 police officers to serve 624 years each for their roles in a prison massacre more than two decades ago. The 1992 incident left 111 prisoners dead after police entered Sao Paulo's Carandiru Penitentiary to put down a revolt. It became an iconic example of how Brazil's military police can sometimes kill with impunity, an issue which has recently moved to the center of ongoing street protests. The court on Saturday convicted the officers of murder in the killings of 52 inmates.

Brazil's Supreme Court sided with Amazonian Indians in a land dispute that turned violent last year when authorities tried to evict rice farmers from a government-decreed reservation. The court ruling upholds the 4.2-million-acre Raposa Serra do Sol reservation for 18,000 Indians who lay claim to their ancestral land, despite a few large-scale farmers who also occupy the territory in the northernmost reaches of the Amazon jungle bordering Venezuela.

It took only a little cajoling from the campaign workers to persuade Sonia Muniz to get sterilized. She was poor, they told her, and the congressman was doing her a favor by helping her limit her family size. "I didn't want to do it," Muniz mutters, barely louder than the wind whipping by the deserted Indian Protection Service post in this northeastern village. But she went anyway. "They made me.

A day after clearing former President Fernando Collor de Mello of corruption, the Supreme Court threw the book at his top aide. The court voted unanimously late Tuesday to convict Paulo Cesar Farias, the high-living treasurer of Collor's 1989 presidential campaign, of falsifying official documents. He was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined 21,000 reals, or about $25,000.

The Brazilian Supreme Court dealt a stunning blow Wednesday to President Fernando Collor de Mello in his fight against impeachment, denying his request for more time to contest charges against him in the lower house of Congress. The court's decision also rejected Collor's arguments that the impeachment vote should be secret. "The elector should vote secretly, not the elected," said Justice Octavio Galloti in his prevailing opinion.

Brazil's Supreme Court on Thursday gave President Fernando Collor de Mello more time to prepare his last-ditch attempt to stave off impeachment, but the resignation of the president's chief of staff reinforced the impression that he still faces long odds. In a 7-1 decision, the court ruled that Congress must give the president until Sept. 24 or 25 to respond to accusations that he benefited from a giant influence-peddling scheme. Collor was originally ordered to complete his defense by Sept. 17.

A state appeals court has annulled the conviction of a rancher for plotting the 1988 murder of Brazilian rain forest activist Chico Mendes. Environmentalists called it a major step backward for their movement in Brazil. The court in Rio Branco, in the Amazon jungle 2,600 miles northwest of Rio, overturned the 1990 conviction of rancher Darly Alves da Silva on Friday but upheld the conviction of his son, Darci Pereira. Both had been sentenced to 19 years in prison.

Brazil's court of appeals has dropped charges against two Indians who lobbied abroad against construction of dams on their land and a U.S. scientist who served as their interpreter, a court official announced. Charges against Kaiapo tribe leaders Kubei Kaiapo and Paulinho Paiakan were dropped after the federal court ruled that they could not be tried. Charges against scientist Darrel Posey were also dropped.

November 21, 2001 | HECTOR TOBAR and NATALIA TARNAWIECKI, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Few people doubted that Abimael Guzman was the most dangerous man in the country when he was brought before a specially created military court in 1992, tried and swiftly convicted by a panel of hooded judges. The founder of the Shining Path guerrilla movement had presided over bombings and massacres that terrorized Peru for more than a decade. But the court created to try this nation's most violent rebels soon broadened its mandate.